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Post by dem bones on Sept 27, 2016 17:46:52 GMT
Seabury Quinn - The Devil's Bride (Popular, Nov. 1976)  Vincent Di FateJULES de GRANDIN'S GREATEST CHALLENGE AND MOST FEARFUL FIGHT
Even that ultimate investigator of the occult, Jules de Grandin, was touched for the first time by the tendrils of terror when he realized the immensity of the evil threatening all humankind..
Spreading like a soul-destroying cancer over all the earth were cells of the Devil-worshipping organization that hungered for supreme power over humanity — and used both the darkest forces of the spirit and the most seductive female flesh to gain its diabolical ends.
Jules de Grandin knew he would have to cut this monstrous growth off at the root — even if it meant descending into the deepest depths of hell itself....A tale of devil-worship, that contains horror, thrills, shudders, breath-taking interest, suspense and vivid action. Seabury Quinn's solitary de Grandin "novel" is, in reality, a sprawling, impossibly convoluted, six-part serial commenced in Weird Tales for Feb. 1932. Alice Hume, her fiancé, John Davisson and their several guests, meet at St. Chrysostom's church for the final dress rehearsal before tomorrows wedding. Among the invited, Dr. Trowbridge and his phantom fighting colleague, Jules de Grandin. Miss Hume is a devotee of the ouija board and of late has been the recipient of a persistent communication from the other side - Alice come home. Yet her home is, and always has been, Twelve Trees. What can it all mean? From long before anyone can remember, the Hume women have worn a jewelled metal corset as part of their bridal attire. Unbeknown to Alice, this "lucky" girdle is of Satanic origin and part fashioned from the skin of a human child! Man of the world that he is, de Grandin instantly recognises the corset of chaos for what it is, but, reluctant to introduce a sour note to the joyous occasion, keeps his own counsel. As the Priest runs through his lines, the congregation are distracted by yellow dust particles floating down from above. Within seconds they are collectively doped! By the time the celebrants rouse from stupor, Alice Hume has vanished! Jules de Grandin has previous experience of this drug from his run-ins with the Witch-men of the Congo - it's native name is Bulala-Gwai, a powerful soporific straight from the Devil's snuffbox! Back at Twelve Trees, de Grandin locates a sheet which has remained concealed inside the cover of the the family Bible since 1657. It is the testimony of David Hume, founder of the family, who was captured by Moslems and sold as a slave to the Devil-worshipping Yezidee cult of Sheik-adi. During his captivity, David fell for Kudejah, the daughter of the Mir, or High Priest, and escaped with her to England where she converted to Christianity, effectively cheating Satan of his bride. The Yekizee don't do forgiveness, and all scores shall be settled in time. A veiled lady warns de Grandin that his pursuit of the missing girl is futile. He takes this as a sign that her abductors are rattled. Arabella Hume, mother of the missing girl, is found hanging from a stout curtain rail in her bedroom. Her 'suicide' has been faked. It is soon established that she was strung up after death, having already been throttled Thuggee style! A solid start, with the best - and worst - yet to come. [to be very continued]
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Post by helrunar on Sept 27, 2016 21:34:41 GMT
Good God! A Yezidi horror-novel from the unstoppable pen of Seabury Quinn!
What next??
grasping at the shreds of what remain of my sanity,
H.
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Post by dem bones on Sept 28, 2016 6:39:31 GMT
 C. C. Senf Good God! A Yezidi horror-novel from the unstoppable pen of Seabury Quinn! What next?? grasping at the shreds of what remain of my sanity, H. The Yezidi (spelt 'Yezidee' in the novel) feature prominently among what is essentially a unilateral confederacy of Satanic and dark occult forces, united at last in pursuit of a common goal - entire world domination! To date de Grandin has, of course, bested a profusion of vampires, demons, ghosts, werewolves, MAD SCIENTISTS, man-eating plants, cannibals, sadists, reanimated mummies, disembodied hands & Co., but these have been primarily local issues. This is the first time he's exchanged pleasantries with Satanists and the search for Alice will eventually necessitate a safari through darkest Africa. But we get ahead of ourselves. Coming soon, the exciting part, or, at least, I thought so when first exposed to the adventure via the pages of R. A. W. Lowndes Magazine of Horror. The episode inspired what remains far my favourite of Senf's cover paintings. |
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Post by dem bones on Sept 30, 2016 8:14:20 GMT
Back with the action and am delighted to report that it has all turned exceptionally unpleasant. Charles Eastman, eight months old and as yet unbaptised, has been abducted from the Harrisonville orphanage . Meanwhile, the mysterious veiled lady has paid Dr. Trowbridge a late night visit. Delirious and terrified out of her mind, she swoons before anyone can get a word of sense from her. A loosening of her upper garments reveals that she has been branded on the breast with a Satanic symbol. Removal of the veil sheds light on a beautiful face disfigured with inverted crosses on both cheeks. De Grandin has Dr. Donovan commit her to the Hospital's psychiatric ward to keep her safe from those who would do her harm. He fears that her apparent defection from the evil ones bodes ill for little Charles.
Another unexpected visitor, this one welcome, though the news he brings is grave. Inspector Georges Renouard of the Surete , de Grandin's friend and colleague, is in town, investigating a multi-national white slavery racket masterminded by devil worshippers of every stripe. The victims, all of them daughters of affluent families, are branded in identical manner to the veiled lady. These poor women are spiked with drugs and condemned to a short life of addiction and degradation. Every bad 'un from Aleister Crowley to the Yezidee to the Soviets to the Leopard Men of the Congo is in on this trafficking of human lives and it's a proper money spinner.
The reunion is interrupted by a call from Sergeant Costello. Something despicable has happened at the convent!
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Post by ripper on Sept 30, 2016 9:11:57 GMT
I'm enjoying your synopsis of De Grandin's only novel-length adventure, Dem. It sounds as if it belts along at a fair pace, which I think is appropriate for this sort of thing.
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Post by dem bones on Oct 25, 2016 15:59:26 GMT
I'm enjoying your synopsis of De Grandin's only novel-length adventure, Dem. It sounds as if it belts along at a fair pace, which I think is appropriate for this sort of thing. That it does, Rip. We're 100 pages in and the pace is unrelenting as an early Sax Rohmer Fu-Manchu. With the truly horrific crucifixion at the convent - as spiteful and bizarre as I remembered it, but minus the one-sided snowball fight (where did I get that from?) - and ensuing business with the cruelly mutilated woman, the one concern is that the very best of The Devil's Bride may well be behind us. Then-me certainly felt so on first reading circa the Pleistocene epoch. But am getting ahead of myself again. The crucixion deprives us of a main player in the drama and is truly shocking, even to a hardnut like Sergeant Costello who is no stranger to the worst human beings can do to one another. An emotional de Grandin swears at the foot of the cross to avenge the pathetic victim, knowing that it was the visit to the Trowbridge residence sealed her death warrant. But how did the Satanists spirit her from the Hospital without being seen (the scene is so traumatic as to make him forget the yellow dust)? A second sadistic murder hot on the heels of this one sees the de Grandin-Trowbridge-Renouard axis at a low ebb. Is the global confederation of evil-worshippers unstoppable? Will have to dig out the relevant issues of Magazine of Horror and compare accounts of the Convent attrocity as this missing snowball business is getting to me. |
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